Hydrogen generation and hydrogen degradation in supercompacted radwaste products

Supercompacted radwaste pellets often generate gaseous hydrogen due to water content. This effect may lead to significant pressure build-up in waste drums or containers. The formation of hydrogen by waste pellets of different composition was investigated in long-term experiments. Hydrogen pressure build-up can be avoided by a preceding vacuum drying of the pellets or can be degraded by both catalytical recombination of hydrogen and oxygen or chemical oxydation of hydrogen, inside the drum.